1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a metal mesh network such as chain-mail to be applied to handbags, tapestries, rugs, vests, etc.
2. Prior Art
Metal mesh network (or, chain-mail) have been widely used for materials of women's handbags or other articles. Recently, various fashionable metal mesh networks have appeared on the market. The metal mesh network is composed of unit piece members which are made by shearing, pushing and bending a metal sheet such as an aluminum sheet, and joing ring members. Several pawls are set up on each piece member. The joint rings are loosely mounted over plural pawls of unit piece members adjajent to each other to bind the plural pawls and to bend the pawls outward opposite to each other. In this way plural unit piece members are connected to each other in the back-and-forth and right-and-left directions to form a cloth-like network.
Then this network is usually coated with proper paint and used as materials for handbags or other articles.
Since the conventional networks are coated with paint by spraying or other means after they have been assembled as described above, it is difficult to obtain metal mesh networks having complicated color patterns. Therefore, color patterns are restricted within monotone color patterns or two-tone color patterns made by masking. In addition, the pawls of the unit piece members are loosely fit in the ring members to provide flexibility to the metal mesh networks; accordingly, when the metal mesh network is spread, the unit piece members do not have equal intervals, so that it is almost impossible to paint all surfaces of the joint ring members which are exposed among unit piece members. Thus, some parts of the joint ring members remain unpainted. Even if all exposed surfaces of the joint ring members can be painted completely, some parts hidden by the unit piece members during painting may remain unpainted and may frequently appear during use since the joint ring members are rotatably engaged with the pawls. If silver or beige paint is used, the unpainted parts of the joint ring members are not so much conspicious. However, if a deep color such as black or red is used, the unpainted parts spoil the view and mar the appearance of the metal mesh networks.